Outlander: Both Sides Now (1x08)

Okay, I'm distinctly torn about this episode. There were parts of it that I dearly loved, and other parts that I was not happy with. Let's just dive in to the plot, to start.

Throughout the episode, we get to see Frank's side of the story, as he searches for his wife. I'll be brief, because not a lot happens: the Inverness police think that Claire probably ran off voluntarily, but Frank won't believe it. A girl gives him a tip as to where the man from the wanted posters might be (a rendering of Jamie, from when Frank saw his ghost). When Frank shows up, it turns out to be a trap to get the reward money. Frank is set upon by some men, but he beats them off, very nearly killing one of them. He also nearly strangles the woman who brought him there to begin with. He talks to Reverend Wakefield, who suggests he leave Inverness and move on with his life before the darkness swallows him up.

Mrs. Graham tells Frank her theory about the standing stones and time travel. Frank doesn't believe it. However, on his way out of Inverness, he goes up to Craig na Dun, where he hears Claire calling for him. He calls to her, too. However, nothing happens on his end.

Meanwhile, in Scotland, we see Jamie and Claire sharing some nice quiet alone time together, when suddenly a beggar shows up. He's an old friend of Jamie's. He gives Claire a gift: a dragonfly in amber. He also tells Jamie that there's a British redcoat deserter who can help Jamie get the price lifted from his head by telling the truth of what happened when Jamie escaped from the British.

Back at camp, the Mackenzies are attacked by bandits. Claire hides during the fight, and although some of their stuff is stolen, they make it out alright overall. The next day, Claire gets a lesson from some of the men as to how to stab attackers with a small knife, which she can keep hidden on her person.

Next, Jamie and Claire are having some sexy times in a meadow, when two redcoats show up. Jamie is pulled away from Claire, and one of them gets on top of Claire and tries to rape her. She stabs him in the back, killing him, and Jamie is able to get away from the other one, and kill him as well. Claire goes into shock. Later, as the group is riding on, Claire realizes that she's angry at herself for living in her little lust bubble with Jamie and forgetting about her plans to go home to Frank.

Jamie and most of the rest of the group go off to meet with the British deserter who wants to help clear Jamie's name. Claire is left in the care of Willie. She is able to evade him and make her way to the nearby Craig na Dun. She hears Frank calling for her on the other side of the stones, and tries to make her way to him. Just before her hands touch the stones, she is abducted by yet more redcoats!

She is brought to Jack Randall. At first, Claire seems to fool him by saying that she works for the Duke of Sandringham. However, Jack tricks her by bringing up the Duke's wife, who apparently doesn't exist. Jack says he'll get the truth out of Claire no matter what this time. He exposes her breasts and takes out a knife, threatening to cut her. At that moment, Jamie shows up with a gun and tells Jack to take his hands off of Claire. Jack laughs in astonishment, Jamie glares extra sexy for the camera, and...

Hiatus begins.

Let's start with the biggest element of consternation for me: the Craig na Dun scene. In the book, Claire makes the decision to run away, and go towards the stones. In the show version, it's pretty much just a crazy coincidence that Claire ends up back at Craig na Dun. It takes away some of the agency of the moment. I also felt weird about the fact that Frank and Claire could hear each other through the stones. That mythology is something completely absent from the books. Frank, in particular, should not have been able to hear anything, unless he too has the power to travel through the stones. It felt odd and a little too... love-triangle-y to have Frank and Claire be so close to reuniting.

My other major qualm? The stuff with Frank was just not interesting. They did a few cool things with it, but for the most part, every time Frank was on screen, I just wanted them to go back to Jamie and Claire. Since this is Claire's story, it felt odd to spend so much of this episode focusing on Frank's journey. I think there might have been a more subtle way of conveying that Frank is missing Claire. What if, instead, we could see Claire imagining what Frank was going through, and then see snippets of his story? I think that would have been more effective.

But still, I liked the episode overall. This show might not be perfect, but it has yet to make any serious missteps, and I was left wanting much more when the episode ended. Here are some moments I particularly enjoyed:

Jamie and Claire's first scene together. It was so cute to see him asking her questions about what they had. Claire admits that what she and Jamie have isn't... usual, which is all sorts of adorable. Just the way that Jamie looks at her, and his sort of innocent, enthusiastic love for her, is really precious to see. It's like even though this was a marriage arranged to save Claire's life, he's so ready to have a real relationship with her. Of course, he doesn't know what's holding Claire back.

Often it gets a little old to see the whole protective, possessive act in relationships like this, but I really loved looking at Jamie's anguished face when Claire was being assaulted. Oh wow that makes me sound so sick. What I mean is that you can really feel his desperation and fear. And afterwards, his apologies and his panic were so sincerely portrayed. He honestly doesn't know what to do to fix it, which I think makes it all the more difficult. And then in the very last moment with Jack, when he appears in the window? Damn. That was seriously hot, Jamie.

Even though I didn't love the stuff with Frank, one thing I can praise is the adorable-ness of little Roger Wakefield! For those who haven't read the books, I won't tell you who he is, specifically, but suffice it to say, that's a name you'll be remembering later. He was such a cute little kid!

Another good thing about the Frank stuff was the way the episode as a whole was edited together. I could have done with much less of Frank, but cutting away from him looking at his wedding picture with Claire, to Claire and Jamie having sex, was a really effective way of getting across the full weirdness of this situation. Claire is having this crazy, scary adventure with this super attractive and sweet guy, and even though she still wants to get home to Frank, things are not so simple anymore. On top of that, we see Frank lose his cool and attack someone, showing that some of the brutality of his ancestors might still lie within him. Even if Claire were to go back to Frank, wouldn't it be difficult for her to see him and not think of Black Jack Randall?

Speaking of Jack, that final scene between Claire and Jack was just as intense and well acted as the episode a few weeks back, where most of the focus was on the two of them. I loved all the stuff about the Duke, and then when Jack grabs for her... ugh. So creepy. So well done. It was so disturbing to see the knife against her nipple like that. I could really imagine the feel of cool metal... that was the most freaked out I've been by any of what I've seen so far, even though I knew what was coming.

There are two small moments I want to mention - when Claire hugs Jamie earlier in the episode, we see the camera focus on her two wedding rings. It was a bit too on-the-nose, and I didn't like it. However, later, when she's handcuffed and being brought to Jack, the silver ring and the gold ring both lined up on her hands. There was no special close-up on the rings, or even mention of it, but it was a much more subtle and effective image, in my opinion.

I think I'll leave it there. This episode wasn't one of my favorites. It had some fantastic moments, but real weaknesses too. It also seemed to lack a lot of focus, for whatever reason. I wasn't sure where to put my full attention. So, not the best note to go out on before a hiatus, but I'll certainly be tuning in for more in April!

7/10